"The “run philosophy” and the “last generation” are the rallying cries for many young Chinese in their 20s and 30s who despair about their country and their future. They are entering the labor force, getting married and deciding whether to have children in one of the country’s bleakest moments in decades. Censored and politically suppressed, some are considering voting with their feet while others want to protest by not having children."

rally
/ræli/

verb

[I, T] to come together or bring people together in order to help or support somebody/something

despair
/dɪ'sper/

verb

[I] to stop having any hope that a situation will change or improve

bleak
/bliːk/

adjective

(of a situation) not giving any reason to have hope or expect anything good

suppress
/səˈpres/

verb

[T] (of a government, ruler, etc.) to put an end, often by force, to a group or an activity that is believed to threaten authority

vote with one's feet

idiom

to show that you do not support a decision or action by leaving a place or organization

"The spate of recent shootings has pushed guns to the forefront of a national conversation as leaders reckon with how to curb the alarming rate of violence."

spate (of sth)
/speɪt/

noun

[usually singular] a large number of things, which are usually unpleasant, that happen suddenly within a short period of time

at/in/to the forefront (of sth)
/ˈfɔːrfrʌnt/

idiom

in or into an important or leading position in a particular group or activity

reckon (with sth/sb)
/'rekən/

verb

[T] to consider or treat somebody/something as a serious opponent, problem, etc.

curb
/kɜːrb/

verb

[T] to control or limit something, especially something bad

"When elite athletes openly discuss mental ill-health, this is often publicly celebrated. This aligns with changing cultural attitudes, moving away from rigid stoicism and towards recognising mental ill-health as a reality rather than a rarity."

elite
/ɪˈliːt/ /eɪˈliːt/

adjective

having or showing the greatest ability at the highest level of competition

align
/əˈlaɪn/

verb

[I, T] to arrange something in the correct position, or to be in the correct position, in relation to something else

align (sth) (with sth)

stoicism
/ˈstəʊɪsɪzəm/

noun

[U] the fact of not complaining or showing what you are feeling when you are suffering

rarity
/ˈrerəti/

noun

[U] the quality of being rare

"While China's status as the world's largest manufacturing hub seems to be a given these days, that hasn't always been the case. In fact, as recently as 2009, the US trumped China in manufacturing output as measured by total value added in the sector."

given
/ˈgɪvn/

noun

[C] a basic fact that you accept as being true

trump
/trʌmp/

verb

[T] to beat something that somebody says or does by saying or doing something even better

"Doggy dementia, or canine cognitive dysfunction, is similar to Alzheimer’s disease in humans, a progressive brain disease that comes with behavioural, cognitive and other changes. It is generally seen in dogs over eight years old, but can occur in ones as young as six. Pet owners may dismiss many behaviour changes as just a normal part of ageing. So it’s likely there are more dogs with it than we realise."

dementia
/dɪˈmenʃə/

noun

[U] a serious mental disorder caused by brain disease or injury, that affects the ability to think, remember and behave normally

canine
/ˈkeɪnaɪn/

adjective

connected with dogs

progressive
/prəˈɡresɪv/

adjective

happening or developing steadily

"Journalist Katherine Mangu-Ward makes the case that "weirdos" left alone to innovate and explore far-out ideas in a free market system are our best hope for the future. She asks us to reconsider our qualms about capitalism, failure and corporate death, analyzing the recent history of General Motors and Facebook to illustrate why we're better off with a lot less government intervention."

case
/keɪs/

noun

[C] set of facts or arguments that support one side in a trial, a discussion, etc.

far-out
/ˌfɑːr ˈaʊt/

adjective

very strange or unusual

qualm
/kwɑːm/

noun

[C, usually plural] a feeling of doubt or worry about whether what you are doing is right - misgiving

corporate
/'kɔːrpərət/

adjective

connected with a large business company

be better off (doing sth)

idiom

used to say that somebody is/would be happier or more satisfied because they are/if they were in a particular position or doing a particular thing

"Meaning isn't happiness and it isn't self-esteem and it isn't momentary pleasure. It isn't any of that. it's the bearing of a sacrificial burden and that actually works to enrich and ennoble your life in ways that make the tragic element of it tolerable and to keep you from bitterness."

momentary
/'məʊmənteri/

adjective

lasting for a very short time - brief

sacrificial
/ˌsækrɪ'fɪʃl/

adjective

offered as a sacrifice

ennoble
/ɪ'nəʊbl/

verb

[T] to give somebody/something a better moral character

bitterness
/'bɪtərnes/

noun

[U] angry and unhappy feelings caused by the belief that you have been treated unfairly

"While human numbers have quadrupled worldwide since the 1950s, in virtually every category human wellbeing has radically improved."

quadruple
/qwɑː'druːpl/

verb

[I, T] to become four times bigger; to make something four times bigger

virtually
/ˈvɜːrtʃuəli/

adverb

almost or very nearly, so that any slight difference is not important

‘Four years ago, Freedom House, a non-profit research and advocacy group for global democracy, focused on “the rise of digital authoritarianism” when it published its annual report on the state of freedom and the internet in 2018. As the report explains, “Digital authoritarianism is being promoted as a way for governments to control their citizens through technology, inverting the concept of the internet as an engine of human liberation.”’

non-profit
/ˌnɑːn ˈprɑːfɪt/

noun, adjective

an organization that does not aim to make a profit (also not-for-profit)

advocacy
/ˈædvəkəsɪ/

noun

[U] public support that somebody gives to an idea, a course of action or a belief

authoritarianism
/əˌθɔːrəˈteriənɪzəm/

noun

[U] the belief that people must obey completely and not be allowed freedom to act as they wish

invert
/ɪnˈvɜːrt/

verb

[T] to put something in the opposite position to the one it was in before

"Gaslighting is broadly defined as a type of psychological abuse that makes someone seem or feel “crazy.” It resembles other forms of psychological abuse and can be thought of as a subset of this broader category. We know that psychological abuse, and “crazy making” in particular, is a core feature of domestic, or intimate partner, violence. It functions in part by convincing victims that what they are experiencing is not real or important and then blames them for their experience."

gaslight
/ˈgæslaɪt/

verb

[T] to treat somebody in a way that makes them think they are mentally ill

subset
/'sʌbset/

noun

[C] a group of people or things that is part of a larger group

domestic
/dəˈmestɪk/

adjective

connected with the home or family

in part

idiom

partly, to some extent

"Psychology research reveals why it’s so hard to get inside the minds of others. One of the most challenging problems is called the fundamental attribution error, which is the tendency to believe that others behave badly because of their personality, while we behave badly because of factors beyond our control. Or put more simply, people often jump to blaming others while letting themselves off the hook."

attribution
/ˌætrɪˈbjuːʃn/

noun

[C, U] the act of saying or believing that somebody is responsible for doing something

let/get sb off the hook

idiom

to allow/help sb to get out of a difficult situation

"In the mid-to-late aughts, public debates over religion suddenly expanded in scope and intensity. University auditoria, theaters, and even churches drew capacity crowds for public discussions about the existence of god and whether or not religion is a positive force in the world."

the aughts
/ðə 'ɔːts/

noun

the decade from 2000 to 2009

auditorium /ɔːdɪˈtɔːriəm/
(plural: auditoria /ˌɔːdɪˈtɔːriə/)

noun

[C] a large building used for concerts or public meetings

draw
/drɔː/

verb

[T] to attract or interest somebody

capacity crowd
/kəˈpæsɪtɪ kraʊd/

noun

[C] a situation when the maximum number of people possible are watching an event

"Not only did the film Jurassic Park herald a new era in computer-generated movie effects, it also dramatically raised the profile of paleontology, sparking the careers of many who are now leaders in the field. If that wasn’t enough, it raised questions about the ethics of DNA research."

herald
/ˈherəld/

verb

[T] to be a sign that something is going to happen

profile
/ˈprəʊfaɪl/

noun

[C] the general impression that somebody/something gives to the public and the amount of attention they receive

paleontology
/ˌpæliɒnˈtɒlədʒi/

noun

[U] the study of fossils

spark
/spɑːrk/

verb

[T] to cause something to start or develop, especially suddenly

"Unlike a search engine, with static and stored results, ChatGPT never copies, retrieves or looks up information from anywhere. Rather, it generates every word anew. You send it a prompt, and based on its machine-learning training on massive amounts of text, it creates an original answer. Most importantly, each chat retains context during a conversation, meaning that questions asked and answers provided earlier in the conversation will inform responses it generates later. The answers, therefore, are malleable, and the user needs to participate in an iterative process to shape them into something useful."

rather
/ˈræðər/

adverb

used to express an opposite opinion

anew
/əˈnjuː/

adverb

in a new or different form

malleable
/'mæliəbl/

adjective

easily influenced, trained, or controlled

iterative
/'ɪtərətɪv/

adjective

doing something again and again, usually to improve it

"Portable sensors that mimic the olfactory system, known as e-noses, could be used to identify volatile compounds in the air. However, these devices aren’t widely used so far because they can be large, have complicated manufacturing, are only able to sense one or a few compounds, or have inaccuracies."

olfactory
/ɑːlˈfæktəri/

adjective

connected with the sense of smell

volatile
/ˈvɑːlətl/

adjective

(of a substance) that changes easily into a gas

"How can a growing population expand resource abundance? Some of the ways are well known. Consider increased supply. When the price of a resource increases, people have an incentive to find new sources of it. Geologists have surveyed only a fraction of the Earth’s crust, let alone the ocean floor. As surveying and extracting technologies improve, geologists and engineers will go deeper, faster, cheaper and cleaner to reach hitherto untouched minerals."

abundance
/əˈbʌndəns/

noun

[singular, U] a large quantity that is more than enough

incentive
/ɪnˈsentɪv/

noun

[C, U] something that encourages you to do something

survey
/sər'veɪ/

verb

[T] to look carefully at the whole of something, especially in order to get a general impression of it - inspect

crust
/krʌst/

noun

[C, U] the outer layer of rock that forms the surface of the earth or another planet

hitherto
/ˌhɪðərˈtuː/

adverb

until now

"How can a growing population expand resource abundance? Some of the ways are well known. Consider increased supply. When the price of a resource increases, people have an incentive to find new sources of it. Geologists have surveyed only a fraction of the Earth’s crust, let alone the ocean floor. As surveying and extracting technologies improve, geologists and engineers will go deeper, faster, cheaper and cleaner to reach hitherto untouched minerals."

abundance
/əˈbʌndəns/

noun

[singular, U] a large quantity that is more than enough

incentive
/ɪnˈsentɪv/

noun

[C, U] something that encourages you to do something

survey
/sərˈveɪ/

verb

[T] to look carefully at the whole of something, especially in order to get a general impression of it

crust
/krʌst/

noun

[C, U] the outer layer of rock that forms the surface of the earth or another planet

hitherto
/ˌhɪðərˈtuː/

adverb

until now

"Unlocking value from emerging growth sectors requires a commitment to understanding the implications of developments in the marketplace and evaluating how they may present opportunities or threats. The Internet of Things, for example, is starting to open opportunities for disrupters to use unprecedented levels of data precision to identify flaws in existing value chains."

disrupter
/dɪsˈrʌptər/

noun

[C] a company or form of technology that causes radical change in an existing industry or market by means of innovation

unprecedented
/ʌnˈpresɪdentɪd/

adjective

that has never happened, been done or been known before

precision
/prɪˈsɪʒn/

noun

[U] the quality of being exact, accurate and careful - accuracy

"Failure is part of the learning curve. It’s essential to allow yourself to be vulnerable, have a willingness to embrace change, and stretch outside the warm feeling of your comfort zone. A few setbacks may surface, but your energy needs to stay focused on the lessons you will acquire during moments of growth."

setback
/ˈsetbæk/

noun

[C] a difficulty or problem that delays or prevents something, or makes a situation worse

surface
/'sɜːrfɪs/

verb

[I] to suddenly appear or become obvious after having been hidden for a while - emerge

"Over the course of eight months, more passionate employees were less likely to suffer from burnout and reported fewer problems with their physical health. Work passion also seemed to reduce conflict at home: they were less likely to argue with their families over the time they spent at work, for instance – perhaps because they were happier and less stressed in general. It could certainly be true that some obsessively passionate individuals would experience greater work-home conflict. However, when employees are passionate about their work in an adaptive manner, they tend to experience more positive emotions and fulfilment when working, which buffer them from many of the stressors and strain that they might otherwise bring home."

burnout
/ˈbɜːrnaʊt/

noun

[C, U] the state of being extremely tired or ill, either physically or mentally, because you have worked too hard

buffer
/'bʌfər/

verb

[T] to protect somebody from harm

strain
/streɪn/

noun

[C, U] mental pressure or worry felt by somebody because they have too much to do or manage; something that causes this pressure